VET Validation Policy | Eastern College Policy Portal

Category:

Policy Contact:

Director of VET

Background:

The 2025 Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) include:
Standard 1.5: The assessment system is quality assured by appropriately skilled and credentialled persons through a regular process of validating assessment practices and judgements.
Industry experts may be involved in validation to ensure there is the combination of expertise.
The trainer who delivered the training product can be involved in the validation process but cannot lead.

Purpose:

To ensure that all of the College’s VET training products are systematically validated.

Scope:

The policy relates to all VET training courses (training packages and accredited courses) and units of competency.

Statement:

Every training product on the College’s scope of registration is validated at least once every five years and on a more frequent basis where the organisation becomes aware of risks to training outcomes, any changes to the training product or any feedback from VET students, trainers, assessors, and industry.

The validation of the assessment system in a training product will comply with the following principles:

the validation will assess whether the assessment judgements being made are consistent with the training product and whether they have been consistently applied;
the validation shall review relevant policies and procedures and all course or unit documentation, in addition to individual assessment decisions;
no-one directly involved in the delivery or assessment of a unit of competency may conduct or lead the validation of the unit on their own but can participate in the validation;
it is conducted by a person or panel with vocational competencies and current industry skills relevant to the assessment being validated;
it is conducted by a person or panel with current knowledge and skills in vocational teaching and learning;
the involvement of independent industry experts is recommended;
utilises a risk-based approach – informed by any risks to training outcomes, any changes to the training product or any feedback from VET students, trainers, assessors, and industry – to determine:

i. the components of the assessment system for a training product which are to be validated; and

ii. the sample size of assessments that are to be validated in respect of a particular training product.

Validation is undertaken by one or more people who collectively have:

i. industry competencies, skills and knowledge relevant to the training product;

ii. a practical understanding of current industry practices relevant to the training product; and

iii. one of the credentials for validation specified in the Credential Policy.

the outcome of an assessment validation is not solely determined by a person who has designed or delivered the training or assessment; and
Outcomes of an assessment validation are used to inform changes to the assessment system and updates to the Continuous Improvement Register.

A formal report shall be made for each validation activity and any recommendations will be reviewed by the Director of VET, for implementation by the Manager, VET courses and the relevant Course Coordinator.
Any improvements from the validation of selected units will be applied to all the units within the training package or accredited course.